The present invention relates to mineral mining installations and more particularly to drive arrangements for mineral winning machines. It is well known in the mining art to employ a chain driven machine, such as a plough, which is moved back and forth along a mineral face. Normally the machine is guided by a guide on or at one side of a scraper chain conveyor composed of a series of channel sections or pans arranged end-to-end. Chainless drive systems for winning machines are also known. In one system of this type a toothed track or rack extends along the path of movement of the machine and a driven toothed wheel engages with the rack. To enable the installation to be shifted up in stages and to enable the installation to cope with unevenness in the floor it is usual to provide some limited mobility between the individual channel sections or pans of the conveyor. This requirement for mobility however causes serious problems with the known forms of chainless drives where a correct meshing between the track and the toothed wheel is needed. There is also a need, in general, for a drive system which is readily adaptable to chain and chainless drives without extensive work.
With regard to the foregoing a general object of the present invention is to provide an improved drive arrangement for a mineral winning machine.